THE  MAGIC  FOREST 


H  Modem  fa../ 


BY 


STEWART   EDWARD   WHITE 

AUTHOR  OF   "  THE  CLAIM   JUMPERS,"   "  THE  WESTERNERS, 
"  THE   BLAZED  TRAIL,"   "  CONJUROR'S   HOUSE," 

"THE  FOREST" 


NEW   YORK 
GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 


^cA^  1403 

w  .atas 


COPYRIGHT, 
BY  STEWART  EDWARD  WHITE. 

COPYRIGHT,  1903, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  published  October,  1903.  Reprinted 
November,  December,  1903;  February,  April,  1906;  June,  1908 
February,  1909. 


NortoooU 

J.  8.  Cuihing  It  Co.  -  Berwick  *  Smith  Co. 
«•   .'.  Norwood,  MM*,  p. 6.  A. 


CHAPTER   I 

WHEN  James  Ferris  was  only  five  years 
old,  he  slipped  from  his  bed,  pattered  bare 
footed  through  the  bedroom  and  down  the 
hall,  and  was  finally  reclaimed  by  an  excited 
mother  just  as  he  was  about  to  crawl  through 
the  window  on  to  the  sloping  roof  of  the 
veranda.  James  was  promptly  spanked,  al 
though  he  disclaimed  all  knowledge  of  the 
episode.  About  a  year  later  he  left  his 
sleeping-car  berth,  and  was  only  restrained 


xz 


12 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


by  the  porter  from  stepping  off  the  moving 
train.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  horrified  his 
family  by  climbing  down  four  stories  of  a 
hotel  fire-escape.  The  third  coincidence  set 
his  mother's  wits  to  work.  After  a  time  it 
became  fully  established  that  Jimmy  Ferris 
was  a  somnambulist,  or  sleep-walker. 

Jimmy  did  not  know  this.     It  was  con 
sidered  best  to  keep  him  in  igno 
rance  of  the  fact.    The  recurrence 
of  his  night  prowlings  was  rare, 
and  after  his  condition  became 
recognized,    he    was     never 
awakened.     In  fact,  until  the 
age   of  nine,   at   which   time 

this  story  opens,  he  had  made 
I——  •*• 

but    six   such   excur 


sions. 

Aside  from  this  unfor 
tunate   tendency,  he    had 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  13 

never  been  very  strong. 
His  passion  had  al-_ 
ways  been  for  out- 
of-door  life,  and  that 
would  have  been  the 
very  best  thing  for 
him  ;  but  his  mother  was  too 
worried  about  him.  She  exer 
cised  a  general  supervisory  authority  over 
such  things  as  rubbers,  flannel  bands, 
sponge  cake,  and  oatmeal,  which  convinced 
Jimmy  that  mortal  man  would  die  if  his 
feet  got  wet  or  if  his  diet  were  in  the  least 
irregular.  It  is  natural  for  a  boy  to  pat 
tern  his  mental  cast  by  that  of  his  mother, 
and  Jimmie's  mother  was  very  anxious. 
Indeed,  about  this  time  she  imagined  that 
Jimmie's  lungs  were  weak,  and  so  nothing 
would  do  but  that  they  must  all  go  to 
Monterey  for  the  summer  and  Santa  Bar- 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


bara  for  the  winter.  As  Jimmy's 
great  but  thwarted  ambition 
had  always  been  to  see 
the  "big  woods,"  he 
was  more  than  de 
lighted. 

They  set  out  by  the 
Canadian  Pacific  railroad 
early  in  May.  Jimmy  was  at  the  car  win 
dow  all  of  the  daylight  hours,  marvelling 
at  the  Canadian  country,  the  stretches  of 
forest,  the  numerous  lakes.  North  of 
Lake  Superior  he  was  surprised  to  see 
still  a  great  deal  of  snow  lying  in  the 
hollows,  and  in  fact,  late  one  afternoon, 


THE    MAGIC    FOREST 


the  big,  white  flakes  began  to  zigzag  slowly 
through  the  air.  Jimmy  was  filled  with 
wonder.  A  snow-storm  in  May  ! 

All  the  afternoon  he  flattened 
his  little  nose 
I//7  against  the  win- 
///  dow,  his  eye  wide 
with  the  mystery 
of  the  forest.  He  could 
see  into  it  just  about  ten 
^ —  feet,  but  who  knew 
what  lay  beyond  that? 
His  restless  mind  con- 
x  jured  up  the  hollows,  the 
streams,  the  springs,  the  wild 
beasts.  Up  in  through  that 
country  lay  the  Long  Trail  to  the  fur 
regions.  At  Sudbury,  late  in  the  afternoon, 
he  had  glimpsed  a  voyageur  just  from  the 
wilds.  The  man  had  worn  a  fur  cap  with 


16  THE   MAGIC    FOREST 

the  tail  hanging  down  behind !  He  had 
been  wrapped  in  a  long  blanket  coat  bound 
with  a  red  sash,  and  his  feet  were  encased  in 
beaded  moccasins  !  Jimmy's  mind  went  gal 
loping  off  on  the  leagues  of  the  Long  Trail 
and  after  he  had  gone  to  bed  he  dreamed  of 
it.  He  too  travelled  in  the  Silent  Places. 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
train  paused  an  instant  because  the  driving 
wheels  could  not  grip  the  slippery  rails  on 
the  grade.  The  engineer  promptly  turned 
on  his  sand.  Five  minutes  later  he  had 
forgotten  the  circumstance. 

But  in  that  pause  something  had  hap 
pened.  Jimmy  Ferris,  travelling  the  Trail 
in  imagination,  had  wandered  down  the 
aisle  of  the  car,  had  stepped  from  the  plat 
form  at  precisely  the  moment  the  engineer 
reached  for  his  sand  lever,  and  was  now 
blundering  aimlessly  through  the  falling 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST  17 

snow,  over  rolling  bald  hills,  clad  only  in 
his  slippers,  a  pair  of  trousers,  and  his  night 
gown,  firmly  convinced  in  his  own  mind 
that  he  was  discovering  the  North  Pole. 

Two  hours  and  a  half  later,  which  of 
course  meant  seventy  or  eighty  miles  far 
ther  on,  Mrs.  Ferris  discovered  her  son's 
berth  empty.  Then  there  was  trouble ! 
Telegrams,  questions,  conjectures,  flew.  Sec 
tion  men  scurried  over  every  inch  of  the 
track  on  hand-cars,  thinking  to  find  Jimmy's 


mutilated  body.  He  was  evidently  not  on 
the  train :  it  seemed  impossible  that  he 
could  have  left  it  while  moving  without 
receiving  some  injury.  Nobody  remembered 


i8 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


that  labored  moment  when  the  engine  had 
coughed  its  protest  of  the  grade.  No  sign 
nor  clew  could  be  discovered.  Mrs.  Ferris 
was  prostrated;  Mr.  Ferris  stricken  to  the 
heart;  everybody  else  was  supremely  puzzled. 
Jimmy  had  simply  vanished  into  thin  air. 

In  the  meantime  Jimmy  went  on  dis 
covering  the  North  Pole,  and  the  arctic 
weather  became  more  and  more  severe.  He 
was  just  on  the  point  of  plucking  the  pole 

to   take   home   with 
-^-=L.  him,    from    which 
happy  event  he  was 
being  prevented 
however  by  the 
numbness   of  his 
hands,  when  he 
awoke    and 
looked  about  him. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  19 

He  knew  perfectly  well  he  was  no  longer 
dreaming,  but  for  a  moment  he  seriously 
doubted  whether  he  was  alive.  His  last 
moments  of 
consciousness 
had  felt  the 
yielding  of  a 
Pullman  berth,  had  heard  the  regular  clink- 
ety-clank  of  the  car  wheels,  had  seen  the 
thin  crack  of  light  that  swayed  between 
his  curtains.  And  here  all  at  once  he  was 
out  on  a  gray,  bleak,  boulder-strewn  hill 
side,  without  a  sign  of  berth,  or  car,  or 
even  track  anywhere  within  sight.  You 
must  remember  that  he  knew  nothing  what 
ever  of  his  sleep-walking  propensities.  He 
could  not  summon  to  his  bewildered  brain 
even  a  wild  solution  of  the  affair. 

Before    him    stretched    a    mistlike    forest 
country,  indistinct  in  the  early  light,  about 


20  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

whose  skeleton  branches  lingered  a  faint, 
wraithlike  fog.  And  all  about  him  was  a 
great  silence. 

He  was  not  frightened ;  the  whole  thing 
was  too  unexplained  for  that,  and,  being  un 
able  to  account  for  himself  in  any  way,  he 
was  as  yet  unterrified  by  a  feeling  of  re 
sponsibility.  But  he  was  very  cold.  His 
thin  slippers,  which  he  had  instinctively  as 
sumed  before  setting  out  to  discover  the 
North  Pole,  were  wet  through  by  the  damp 
snow ;  his  bare  shanks  were  goose-fleshed, 
and  a  thin,  cotton  nightgown  and  a  pair  of 
knee  breeches  are  not  precisely  an  early 
May  costume  in  the  North.  Having  been 
taught  that  damp  feet  meant  pneumonia  and 
inadequate  clothing  consumption,  Jimmy 
immediately  gave  himself  up  for  lost.  "  I 
must  get  back/*  he  said  to  himself. 

Get   back  where  ?     He   had    never   seen 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


21 


this  country  before. 
That  Pullman  car 
might  be  on  the 
other  side  of  the 
world.  For  a  mo 
ment  he  imagined 
he  might  be  dead, 
but  then  a  certain 
sturdy  little  piety 
of  his  own  came  to  his  aid.  It  was  not  that. 
But  since  the  human  mind  must  have  expla 
nations  or  perish,  and  since  Jimmy  was  only 
nine  years  old  and  more  conversant  with 
Grimm  and  Andersen  than  with  medical  au 
thorities,  and  since  sorcery  is  after  all  much 
nearer  to  the  hearts  of  most  of  us  than 
such  a  stupendous  metamorphosis  as  this, 
he  shortly  concluded  that  he  was  living  a 
fairy  tale  and  that  this  must  be  the  Magic 
Forest. 


22  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

In  that  case  he  must  go  somewhere.  He 
struck  out  sturdily,  his  mind  quite  at  rest 
from  the  fears  that  would  have  assailed  it 
had  he  been  lost  in  an  ordinary  and  com 
prehensible  manner. 

Of  course  he  set  out  in  the  wrong  direc 
tion.  Even  had  he  known  enough  to  follow 
a  back  track,  it  would  have  been  impossi 
ble  for  him  to  have  done  so.  The  back 
track  was  covered  by  the  light  fall  of  snow. 
Travel  was  difficult  enough  and  uncomfort 
able  enough  in  any  direction,  but  level 
places  are  easier  than  hills.  Accordingly, 

Jimmy  took  his  way 
down    toward 
the  wraith  of 
vapor,  and  so, 
shortly  after  an  hour's 

f 

stumbling  through  a 
fringe  of  wood,  found 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  23 

himself  on  the  banks  of  a  brawling  north- 
country  river.  By  this  time  the  sun  was 
well  over  the  horizon,  the  clouds  had  scat 
tered,  and  Jimmy's  blood  was  circulating, 
so  that,  had  he  only  known  it,  the  danger 
of  pneumonia  or  a  harmful  chill  had  passed. 
But  Jimmy  did  not  know  it.  He  only 
knew  that  the  repeated  contact  with  melting 
snow  had  turned  his  feet  positively  blue, 
that  his  thin,  wet  garments  sent  a  spasm  of 
cold  through  his  body  every  time  a  new 
movement  brought  their  smooth  clamminess 
next  his  skin  in  a  fresh  place,  that  the  wood's 
brush  had  scraped  and  torn  his  skin  cruelly. 
Once  something  abrupt  and  strange  had 
glided  away  like  a  streak  of  brown  from  a 
thicket  before  him,  startling  him  into  a  cry, 
which  returned  from  the  great  silence  to 
strangle  in  his  throat.  Now  he  stared  in 
helpless  bewilderment  at  the  swift  stream, 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


and  wo  n- 
dered  what 
new  thing  he 
must  do.  It 

would  not  have  surprised  him  to  have  been 

whisked  back  at  any  moment  to  his  berth 

in  the  Pullman  car.     Above  the  little  stone 

beach  on  which  he  stood,  the  river  boiled 

and    tumbled    and   whirled    down    a    slope 

strewn  with  big  and  little 

boulders.    The  water  was 

broken    into    foam,    slid 

in  a  smooth  green  apron, 

twisted  in  savage  eddies. 

The     pool     before     him 

was      filled     with     white 

froth.      And  Jimmy  was 

a    very    lonesome     little 

boy  in    a    great,   strange 

place. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  25 

Suddenly  at  the  extremity  of  the  vista 
something  sprang  into  view  and  came 
shooting  down  the  hurried  waters.  It 
stopped  abruptly,  worked  jerkingly  side 
ways,  to  slant  with  terrific  impetus  across 
the  smooth  apron.  Jimmy's  bewildered 
vision  made  out  a  canoe,  a  birch-bark  canoe 
of  bright  yellow 
with  up-curved 
bows,  of  the  sort 
he  had  seen  ^^^-^j^^  pictures  of  in  his 

L*  sr^&s^      ** "         "* 

father's  ^  Parkman.  It  contained 
two  men.  As  the  canoe  leaped  nearer 
and  nearer,  the  men  came  more  plainly 
into  view.  Their  bold,  copper-colored  faces 
were  set  in  rigid  lines  of  attention,  their 
beady  black  eyes  were  fixed  unwaveringly 
on  the  difficulties  of  the  descent,  their 
sinewy  brown  hands  wielded  long  paddles 
whose  blades  were  colored  vermilion. 


26  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


Both  wore  their  hair 
long  about  the  napes 
of  their  necks  and  over 
their  ears,  and  bound  it  in  place  by  bands 
about  their  foreheads.  Even  before  the 
boy's  quick  faculties  had  sensed  these  things, 
the  craft  had  reached  a  spot  where  the 
current  divided  about  a  great  boulder  to 
tumble  over  a  sunken  ledge  in  a  cataract. 
The  men  simultaneously  rose  to  their 
knees  and  thrust  at  their  paddles  in  one 
superhuman  effort.  The  canoe  quivered, 
jumped  sideways,  shot  forward  just  to  clear 
the  boulder,  and  rushed  on  the  cataract. 
"  Ae  !  hi,  hi,  hi-yah  !  "  shrieked  the  men 
in  an  ecstasy. 


The  canoe  quivered,    .    .    .    and  rushed  on  the  cataract." 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


29 


The  craft  leaped  directly  out  in  the  air. 
A  smother  of  spray  arose.  It  floated  peace 
fully  in  the  eddy  of  the  pool. 

Another  canoe  appeared,  another,  then 
two,  all  rushing  down  the  current,  all  tak 
ing  the  leap.  The  air  was  full  of  shout 
ings,  of  laughter.  Some  set  to  work  at 
once  bailing  water,  others  looked  eagerly 
up-stream  to  watch  their  successors  shoot 
the  rapids.  Almost  instantaneously,  as  it 
seemed,  the  empty  place  was  alive. 

And  the  little  boy,  shivering  in  the 
shadow  of  the  wood,  shivered  still  more 
with  mingled  terror  and  delight ;  for  now 


3° 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


he  saw  that  these  were  Indians,  the  wild 
Indians  of  the  woods,  of  a  hundred  years 
ago,  whose  wigwams  had  given  place  to 
the  New  York  he  knew,  about  whom  his 
fatner  had  read  to  him 
in  Cooper,  —  come 
back  from  the  mys 
terious,  romantic 
past  to  traverse  the 
Magic  Forest.  He 
was  frightened,  and 
yet  he  was  glad.  They 
were  Indians,  and  yet  they 
looked  kind.  He  did  not 
know  whether  to  flee  or 
whether  to  reveal  him 
self  and  ask  for  aid. 

The  trouble  of  a  de 
cision    was    saved    him, 
however.     The  keen  eyes  of 


THE   MAGIC    FOREST  31 

the  savages  did  not  long  overlook  him. 
Instantly  he  was  surrounded  by  a  curious 
group,  eager  to  know  the  meaning  of  his 
appearance. 

The  strange,  handsome  men  in  moccasins 
talked  to  one  another  in  beautiful  singing  syl 
lables  ;  then  an  old  man  knelt  before  him. 

"  You  get  los'  ?  "  he  asked  laboriously. 

Jimmy  only  stared.  You  see  he  really 
did  not  know  himself. 

«  Where  you  hV  ?  " 

"  New  York,"  replied  Jimmy. 

"  New  Yo'k,"  they  repeated  to  one 
another,  puzzled.  They  thought  they 
knew  the  place,  for  far  up  on  the  shores 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  *  is  a  fur-trading 
post  called  York  j|  Factory.  But 
how  did  this 
child  come 
to  be  here  ? 


32  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

"  You  go  dere  now  ?  "  inquired  the  old 
Indian  after  a  moment.  He  spoke  swiftly 
to  his  companions. 

"You  wan1  go  to  York?"  he  asked. 
"  Yes  !  Yes  ! "  cried  Jimmy. 
"A*  right,"  replied  the  Indian. 

"Is  it  far?" 
asked  Jimmy. 
"Ver'far." 
In  the  mean 
time     a     little 
fire    had    been 
built,      over 
which    already 
a  tin   pail  was 
bubbling.       After    a    moment    the    Indian 
gave  Jimmy  a  tin  cup.' 
"  Drink  him,"  said  he. 
It  was    tea,  coal-black,  red-hot,   without 
sugar  and  cream.     Jimmy  had  never   been 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


33 


allowed  to  drink  tea  at  home,  but  he  gulped 
this  down,  almost  scalding  his  throat  in  the 

process,  and  at  once 
felt  better.  While 
thus  engaged,  other 
Indians  came 
through  the  woods, 
bearing  heavy  packs  by  means  of  straps 
passed  across  their  foreheads.  Other  canoes, 
managed  no  less  skilfully  by  women,  shot 
the  rapids.  Children,  half-grown  youths, 
girls,  dogs,  joined  the  group.  A 
soft  lisp  of  excited  conversation 
arose.  Old  Makwa,  the  Ind 
ian  who  had  interrogated 
Jimmy,  told  them  what  he 

had   learned.      It   was    sur- 

IV} 

mised  that  the  boy  had  become 

i 

possessed   by  homesickness   and    had 
started  for  York  Factory  on  foot,  igno- 


34  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

rant  of  the  length  of  the  journey ;  or  per 
haps  that  he  had  been  lost  from  a  party 
already  well  on  its  way  toward  that  dis 
tant  post.  The  band  had  just  been  in 
to  trade  its  furs  at  Chapleau.  It  could 
not  return  south. 

Makwa  cut  the  discussion  short.  There 
was  occasion  for  haste.  He  unceremoniously 
bundled  thinly  clad  little  Jimmy  in  a  robe 
and  deposited  him  gently  in  the  waist  of  his 
canoe.  The  boy  was  well  with  them. 
Later,  perhaps,  when  they  returned  to  Chap 
leau  in  the  fall  — 

He  thrust  the  canoe  strongly  into  the  cur 
rent.  It  shot  away.  Ah-kik,  the  bowsman, 
headed  it  down-stream.  The  paddles  dipped. 

And  now  indeed,  although  he  did  not  for 
a  moment  suspect  the  fact,  little  Jimmy 
Ferris  was  setting  out  on  the  Long  Trail. 


CHAPTER  II 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  rabbit  skin  was  very  light  and  warm 
and  soft.  Jimmy  snuggled  down  in  it,  and 
half  dreamily  watched  the  banks  of  the  river 
slip  past.  The  tea  had  made  him  sleepy. 
He  saw  the  Magic  Forest  through  a  haze, 
and  the  great  trees  and  the  little  trooped  by 
solemnly  like  an  army  with  banners.  Before 
him  the  lithe  bowsman  swung  his  paddle 
tirelessly.  The  whispering  swish  swish  of  the 

39 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


water  lulled  him.  At  this  early  moment  in 
a  strange  adventure  little  Jimmy  might  have 
fallen  sound  asleep  had  not  a  diver 
sion  aroused  him. 

The  leading  canoe  suddenly  stopped 
short,    worked     noiselessly    sideways, 
and  came  to   rest  against  the  bank. 
The    other   canoes  joined    it.       No 
word  was   spoken,  and  Jimmy  was 
warned    by    an    expressive    gesture 
to  keep  silent.      After  a  moment 
Ah-kik,  the    bowsman,  drew 
from    a    long   greasy    case    a 
musket  bound  in   brass.     The 
canoe  crept  forward  around  the  bend. 


THE    MAGIC    FOREST 


Not  a  drip  of  water  broke  the  absolute 
stillness.  Makwa,  although  Jimmy  could 
not  see  him,  was  still  paddling  without  rais 
ing  the  paddle  from  the  water,  and  indeed 
with  a  barely  perceptible 
motion  of  the  wrists.  To 
the  little  boy's  imagination 
the  craft  seemed  suddenly 
to  take  the  character  of  a 
wind  vane  he  had  watched 
from  his  windows,  —  turning 
to  right,  to  left,  swimming 
across  the  cloud-strewn 
ether  as  though  guided  by 
a  will  of  its  own. 

Something  exciting  was 
going  on.  He  did  not  know  what  it  was, 
but  his  eyes  grew  large  and  bright,  and  he 
held  himself  so  still  as  hardly  to  breathe. 

Now  it    became   evident    that    the    canoe 


42  THE    MAGIC   FOREST 

was  quietly  but  steadily  approaching  a  certain 
point  on  the  shore  where  a  little  sandy  beach 
and  a  grass  plot  interposed  between  the  for 
est  and  the  river.  A  broad  maple  tree  rose 
just  outside  the  edge  of  the  woods,  under 
which  lay  a  deep  shadow  backed  by  the 
dusk  of  the  forest.  Nearer  and  nearer 
the  canoe  crept.  And  then  suddenly,  as 
though  it  had  been  evoked  by  the  wave 
of  a  magician's  wand,  Jimmy  saw  that  the 
deep  maple  shadow  had  a  living  tenant. 

And  even  then  he  could 
not  realize  that  he  looked 
on  a  deer.  This  had  the 
graceful  shape  of  the  crea 
ture,  to  be  sure,  but  it  was 
so  exactly  the  color  of  the 
maple  shadow  that  it  seemed  to  be  the  unsub 
stantial  ghost  of  a  deer,  as  tnough  one  could 
sei  through  it  as  through  a  clouded  glass. 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST  43 

The  excitement  in  Jimmy's  little  breast 
was  intense.  His  heart  thumped,  his  breath 
caught  in  his  throat,  and  in  spite  of  his  best 
efforts  he  trembled  all  over  as  though  with  a 
violent  chill.  Each  moment  he  expected  to 
see  the  deer  run  away.  But  still  the  canoe 
slipped  silently  forward  as  idly  as  a  leaf 
wafted  thither  by  the  wind.  Then  all  at 
once,  when  the  prow  was  actually  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  bank,  Jimmy  was  conscious  of 
a  violent  trembling.  Makwa  had  thrust  his 
paddle  down  to  stop  the  headway.  Ah-kik, 
still  unobtrusively,  without  abrupt  motions, 
raised  the  brass-bound  musket. 

A    sudden    roar 
broke     forth,     a 
cloud     of     white 
smoke    enveloped 
the  bow,  the  canoe  leaped 
backward  like  a  spirited  horse. 


44  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

Makwa  dropped  the  paddle  aboard  with 
a  clatter  and  stretched  his  arms.  Ah-kik 
called  back  something  in  his  natural  voice. 
From  around  the  bend  streamed  a  flotilla 
of  canoes.  The  everyday  sounds  after 
the  period  of  strained  silence  and  patient 
endeavor  seemed  almost  profane. 

Jimmy  leaped  ashore  with  his  companions, 
fully  prepared    to  exult    over  a   dead  deer. 
,        What  was  his  disappoint- 
ment  to  discover  only 
four   deep,    sharp 


^ev,..'     footprints    where    the 
animal     had     leaped. 
Evidently  the  shot  had  failed. 

But  Jimmy  had  still  a  long  way  to 
go  before  the  rudiments  of  his  woodcraft 
should  be  complete.  He  did  not  know  that 
Ah-kik  could  tell  by  the  way  the  deer 
carried  its  tail  whether  or  not  the  animal  was 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


45 


wounded,  and  how  badly.  And  so  he  was 
much  surprised  when  two  of  the  young  men 
returned  after  some  minutes  carrying  the 
venison. 

In  the  bustle  of  making  camp  Jimmy  was 
for  some  time  unnoticed.  Certain  of  the 
men  cut  up  dry  wood.  Old  women  swiftly 
built  little  fires  of  birch,  touchwood,  bark, 


and  twigs.  Even  the  little  children  busily 
collected  and  carried  in  the  wood  chopped 
by  the  men.  The  deer  was  quickly  skinned 
and  cut  up.  Pots  bubbled  and  steamed 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


over  little  fires.     Dogs  yelped  with  delight 
as  bits  of  offal  were  tossed  them. 

Then  when 
the  first  tasks 
were  over, 
he  was  sur 
rounded.  The 
younger  chil 
dren  stared  at 
him  wide-eyed, 
the  older  teased  him ;  but  as  he  did  not  un 
derstand  what  they  said,  this  did  not  worry 
him  in  the  least.  One  handsome  little  fel 
low  slightly  older  than  himself  smiled  at  him, 
and  when  Jimmy  smiled  back,  he  promptly 
drove  the  others  away.  Then  he  squatted  on 
his  heels  at  Jimmy's  side. 
"  Minne-qua-gun,"  said 
he,  picking  up  a  tin  cup. 
And  so  Jimmy  learned  his  first  Indian  word, 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  47 

In  this  was  a  new  and  delightful  occupa 
tion.  To  speak  real  Indian  words  was  an 
accomplishment  Jimmy  would  have  rev 
erenced  in  another.  And  here  was  a  chance 
to  learn  for  himself.  He  memorized  tscbi- 
mony  the  canoe ;  and  ab-boo-ey  the  paddle  ; 
and  ab-gab-quit,  the  axe.  Then  he  resolved 
to  find  out  something  useful  to  himself. 
He  hugged  his  arms  close  about  his  chest, 
shivered  violently,  and  looked  inquiringly 
toward  his  companion. 

"  Kss  ina,"  said  the  latter  at  once. 

Jimmy  immediately  ran  to  old  Makwa, 
who  was  smoking  a  pipe  on  a  fallen  tree. 

"  Kss  ina,"  said  he,  pointing  to  his  thin 
night-dress  and  his  bare  shins.  "  Kss  ina, 
kss  ina ! " 

Makwa  laughed,  his  fine  old  face  wrin 
kling  in  a  hundred  deep  little  lines.  He 
called  sharply.  An  old  woman  came  for- 


48 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


ward.  Makwa  spoke  a  few  words  to  her, 
whereupon  she  went  away  for  some  moments, 
only  to  return  bearing  a  bundle  wrapped  in 
canvas  which  she  laid  at  Makwa's  feet. 

The  bundle  when  opened  was  found  to 
contain  a  variety  of  things.  Makwa  picked 
out  a  little  deerskin  shirt,  a  pair  of  blue 
leggings  made  of  stroud,  two  squares  of 
blanketlike  material  called  duffel,  and  a 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


49 


pair  of  deerskin  moccasins. 
The  squares 
he  wrapped 
about  Jimmy's 
feet  in  place  of  socks, 
the  leggings  he  bound  with  a 
pair  of  heavily  beaded  garters, 
the  deerskin  shirt  he  slipped  on 
deftly,  and  fastened  with  a  worsted  sash. 
When  arrayed  in  them,  the  little  boy  was 
too  happy  to  sit  still. 

But  now  the  meal  was  cooked,  Jimmy 
discovered  that  he  was  very  hungry.  He 
sat  with  a  group  of  women 
and  children,  and  accepted 
thankfully  his  share  of 
venison,  fish,  and  tea. 
A  little  girl  sat  next 
to  him,  a  pretty  little 
brown  thing  with  big, 


50  THE   MAGIC  FOREST 

soft    eyes.      She    gazed    at    him    solemnly 
during  the  meal. 

At  last  he  nodded  and  smiled  at  her, 
whereupon  she  showed  all  her  teeth  in  the 
prettiest  fashion  in  the  world.  Jimmy,  with 
a  full  stomach,  began  to  feel  very  contented. 
The  sun  was  warm,  the  people  about  him 
looked  on  him  kindly,  this  open-air  meal 
under  the  greenwood  tree  was  inexpressibly 
thrilling  to  his  young  imagination,  j 

That  afternoon  he  was  given  a  short  pad 
dle  and  set  to  work.  Nor  was  the  paddling 
a  matter  of  play  merely.  When  his  unaccus 
tomed  little  wrists  and  shoulders  became 
very  tired,  old  Makwa 
sternly  forbade  him 
to  rest.  He  was  com 
pelled  to  keep  on, 
although  his  arms  at 
times  seemed  ready  to 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  51 

drop  off,  and  his  efforts  could  certainly  have 
added  little  to  the  speed  of  the  canoe. 
However,  twice  the  party  disembarked  on 
the  beach,  drew  the  canoes  up,  unloaded  all 
they  contained,  and  set  off  through  the  forest, 
carrying  packs.  Here,  too,  Jimmy  was  given 
his  share  to  carry,  and  his  thin  moccasins 
were  slight  protection  to  his  feet,  which 
speedily  became  bruised  and  wet.  How 
ever,  the  life  and  mystery  so  filled  Jimmy's 
mind  that  he  only  partly  noticed  these 
things. 

Of  course  the  trees  were  still  bare  of  leaves, 
but  the  spring  was  awakening.  All  sorts 
of  noises  sounded  through  the  woods. 
Jimmy  did  not  know  what  they  were,  but 
little  by  little  he  learned  from  Taw-kwo,  the 
young  boy. 

"  Bump  !  bump  !  bump  !  bump  !  br  —  br-r- 
r-r  !  "  boomed  a  hollow  wooden  note. 


52  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

"Penay,"  said 
Taw-kwo.  Some 
days  latter  a  par 
tridge  was  flushed 
into  a  tree.  "  Pe 
nay/'  said  Taw-kwo  again, 
and  so  Jimmy  knew  that  penay  was  a  large 
bird  with  a  fan-tail  whose  capture  was  most 
desirable,  and  who  made  remarkably  good 
eating.  But  he  did  not  know  the  English 
name  for  it. 

In  this  fashion  he  acquired  much  informa 
tion    about   the  woods  which 
he  would  have  found  quite 
valueless    in    the 
towns,  for   the    simple 
reason  that  he  would 
have  been   unable  to 
tell  any  one  about  it. 
The    hawk,    the    rabbit,    the    squirrel,   the 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  53 

muskrat,  the  jay,  and  many  others  he  learned 
thus.  Of  course  he  could  not  always  re 
member,  but  Taw-kwo  was  patient  in 
repeating,  and  Jimmy  was  just  of  the  age 
to  learn  quickly  by  absorption. 

On  the  way  back  through  the  woods  for  a 
second  load  on  the  second 
carry,  Jimmy  saw  his 
first    live    porcupine.     v^Tf! 
The  beast  was  scorn- 


fill  and  lordly,  and  dis-    %* 

inclined  to  hurry 

in    the   least, 

after    the    manner 

of  porcupines  everywhere,  but  to 

Jimmy  a  wild    animal    of   this    size    which 

would  permit  itself  to  be  approached,  was 

a    brand-new    experience.       Of    course    he 

wanted    to   kill   it.     That  is   invariably  the 

first    instinct.       But    May-may]-gwan,    the 


54  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

soft-eyed  little  girl,  would  not  allow  him 
to  do  so.  Jimmy  learned  thus  his  lesson 
in  woods  moderation,  for  the  woods  Indian 
never  kills  wastefully. 

The  rest  of  the  afternoon  the  canoes 
floated  down  the  river.  The  shores  glided 
by  silently.  Jimmy  many  times  forgot  the 
ache  of  his  shoulders  in  the  excitement  of  a 
swiftly  vanishing  wing,  the  mysterious  with 
drawal  of  some  brown  spot  that,  in  this  man 
ner  only,  proclaimed  itself  a  forest  creature. 

Once    a    mink 
Jt   bobbed    up    for 
^__^a   moment   on    a 
ISJ^^        piece  of  drift- 
w  o  o  d,     and 

paused,  its  forefeet  under  its  chin,  to 
stare  malevolently  at  them  as  they 
glided  by.  Often  the  muskrats  would  be 
seen  swimming  in  arrow-shaped  ripples. 


A  slim,  graceful  animal  slipped  from  the  rock  ledge  ahead." 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


57 


Once  a  slim,  graceful  animal  of  some  size 
slipped  from  a  rock  ledge  ahead.  This 
the  Indians  thought  important  enough  to 


ing    their   canoes 
drifting  bunch, 
gig,  the  otter, 


discuss,  gather- 

into   one   idly 

For    it    was    ni 

and    the    value 

of   his    pelt   in 

the   winter 

won    him 

considera-   ' 

tion    as    a 

personage.        Often    squirrels    crossed    the 

river,  steering  themselves  with  their  bushy 

tails.      Makwa,  noting   the    interest  of  the 

boy,   good-naturedly    extended    his    paddle 

to    one    of    the    little    animals,   whereupon, 

to    Jimmy's  vast  delight,    it    scrambled   up 

the    paddle    to    the    gunwale    within    two 

feet     of    his    hand,    where    it    sat   resting 


THE   MAGIC    FOREST 


for    a    moment,    and    then    plunged    into 
the  water  again. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the 
women's  canoes  were  permitted  to  go  ahead 
for  the  purpose  of  making  camp,  so  that 
by  the  time  the  sun  was  low  the  men  were 
enabled  to  draw  ashore  for  the  night.  A 
number  of  little  birch-bark  shelters  were 
already  in  place,  the  tiny  fires  were  wink 
ing  bravely,  the  dogs  were  squatted  in  a 
^-^x-^_  *d&  semicircle  just 

r/T////A        -L 

at  the  edge 
>-  of  the 
brush 
await- 

ing  their 
share  of  the  meal. 
Jimmy  thought  he  had  never 
seen  such  funny  dogs.  Their  noses  and  ears 
were  pointed,  their  hair  long  and  thick,  and 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  59 

their  tails  as  furry  as  a  fox's  brush.  He 
tried  to  make  friends  with  them,  but  they 
snarled  at  him  so  savagely  that  he  drew 
back  alarmed.  In  after  days  he  succeeded 
in  knowing  them  better,  but  now  they  were 
distrustful.  They 
were  more  than 
half  wolf,  with  the 
wolfs  fierce  in 
stincts. 

But  now  Taw- 
kwo  touched  him 
on  the  shoulder,  smiling  and  motioning 
him  to  follow.  He  did  so.  The  two  boys 
picked  their  way  through  the  brush  to  the 
mouth  of  a  little  creek  flowing  into  the 
river.  There  Taw-kwo  unrolled  a  fine- 
meshed  net  he  was  carrying,  fastened  one 
end  to  a  staff  which  he  braced  upright 
in  the  bottom,  waded  across  and  stuck 


60  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

the  other  end  in  a  similar  manner,  so  that 
the  mouth  of  the  creek  was  entirely  closed 
by  the  net.  Taw-kwo  did  not  seem  to 
mind  in  the  least  wading  in  the  cold 
water  with  his  moccasins  and  leggings  on. 
"  Kee-gawns,"  said  he,  making  with  his 
hand  the  motion  of  a  fish  swimming. 

He  touched  his  finger  to  his  lips  to 
enjoin  caution.  Stealthily  he  lay  on  his 
stomach  and  crawled  to  the  sharp  edge  of 
the  bank.  Jimmy  followed  his  example 
and  peeped  over.  Below  his  eye  ran  five 
or  six  grooves  through  the  thick  water- 
mud  which  ended  in  a  regular  gallery 
of  holes.  And  just  as  Jimmy  looked, 
some  bright-eyed,  solemn,  whiskered  animal 
seemed  to  fade  into  hiding.  cc  She-shesk,"  * 
whispered  Taw-kwo.  He  signed  to  Jimmy 
to  remain,  and  returned  shortly  carrying 
1  Muskrat. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  61 

two  steel  traps. 
These  he  set  at 
the  mouths  of  the 
grooves,  covering  them  ---  ._ 
craftily  with  mud,  and  touch-  fy  ing  none 
of  the  surroundings  with  ^fY  his  hands. 
At  camp  by  this  g/  time  the  even 
ing  meal  was  pre-  pared.  Jimmy 


had  never  been  so  v.^  -  hungry  in 
his  life.  He  ate  and  ate  until  he 

could  not  cram  down  another  mouthful, 
and  he  was  almost  too  lazy  to  move  over 
to  the  larger  fire,  or  to  hang  up  before  the 
blaze  his  moccasins  and  duffels  as  did 
the  others.  The  flames  leaped,  making 
shadows  on  the  Magic  Forest.  Over  in  its 
depths  a  night-bird  began  to  moan  whip- 
poor-will.  The  dogs  sat  on  their  haunches 
blinking  their  eyes.  Men  smoked  and 
laughed  and  talked.  Women  conversed 


62  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


in  low  voices.  ^^^  Little  May-may- 
gwan  sat  beside  him  and  held  his  hand. 

After  a  long  time  Taw-kwo  led  him  to 
a  shelter  in  which  was  spread  six  inches 
of  balsam  browse.  The  Indian  boy  laid 
out  the  rabbit-skin  robe.  The  balsam 
smelled  good  to  Jimmy.  His  eyes  grew 
heavier  and  heavier. 

But  he  was  not  to  sleep  yet.  Suddenly 
a  tremendous  row  brought  him  to  his  feet. 
The  dogs  were  clamoring,  excited  figures 
were  running  past  the  firelight.  Jimmy 
instinctively  thrust  his  feet  into  his  mocca 
sins  and  followed. 

Down  through  the  tangled  forest  the  chase 
went  pell-mell,  the  dogs  always  in  the  lead. 
Some  of  the  Indians  had  snatched  up 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


torches.  Stumbling,  shouting,  clambering, 
breathless,  the  multitude  streamed  through 
the  silent  dark.  Then  it  bunched  at  a 
slim  tree  about  which  the  dogs  were  leap 
ing  frantically.  Jimmy  could  distinguish  a 
fierce-eyed  dark  animal,  about  the  size  of 
a  dog,  crouched  in  the  branches.  The 
little  boy  was 
half  asleep. 
What  followed 
was  much  con 
fused.  Some 
thing  dis 
lodged  the 
beast.  It  fell 
among  the  dogs 
mediately  there  w 
fight,  in  which  the  Indians  seemed  to  be 
trying  desperately  to  deliver  a  telling  blow. 
Then  it  was  all  over.  Two  of  the  dogs 


'. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


were  dead ;  from  others  blood  was  stream 
ing.  One  of  the  Indians  was  tying  a 
bandage  around  the  calf  of  his  leg. 

Back  through  the  ancient  forest  filed  the 
convoy    with    its    prey.      At    the    fireside 


Jimmy    saw    that 
powerful, 
with     long 
wadge,"  replied    /'• 
look  of  inquiry, 
after      Jimmy 
of      them 
Sportsman's 


the      beast     was 
blunt  nosed, 
claws,  "Swing- 
.(    Makwa   to    his 
/    Many     years 
again   saw   one 
stuffed  at  the 


Show,  and  so 
knew  that  he  had  assisted  at  the  killing  of 
a  carcajou,  the  fiercest  fighting  animal  for 
its  size  in  America.  And  thus  closed  what 
he  always  thought  of  afterward  as  his 
Wonderful  Day. 


CHAPTER   III 


CHAPTER   III 

BUT  if  that  was  the  Day  of  Wonder  the 
one  that  followed  was  certainly  the  Day  of 
Despair.  It  started  out  well  enough. 
Jimmy  was  aroused  early  in  the  morning, 
when  the  dawn's  chill  was  still  in  the  air, 
so  that  for  a  few  moments  he  was  very  mis 
erable,  but  the  hot  tea  and  food,  combined 
with  a  good  fire,  soon  put  him  in  spirits. 
He  and  Taw-kwo  visited  the  steel  traps 
and  took  from  them  three  fine  muskrats. 
Then  they  unfastened  one  end  of  the  net 
69 


70  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

and  hauled  it  in.     This  was  most 
exciting.      First  appeared  a 
gleam  of  something 


white  under  the  f  JJisJ  water;  then  the  gleam 
slowly  defined  itself.  A  breathless  moment 
followed.  How  big  was  the  fish?  What 
kind  was  it  ?  And  then  with  a  flop  it  was 
on  the  bank,  beating  the  ground  to  the 
whoops  of  two  enthusiastic  boys.  Taw-kwo 
had  even  produced  a  short  heavy  bow  and 
some  blunt-headed  arrows,  when  a  sum 
mons  called  them  to  resume  the  journey. 
About  ten  o'clock  a  few  drops  of  rain 
fell.  Jimmy  thought,  of  course,  the  band 
would  seek  shelter.  It  did  not.  The 
rain  grew  heavier,  picking  the  surface  of 
the  river.  Water  ran  down  Jimmy's 


THE   MAGIC    FOREST 


hair,  speedily  wetting  him  to  the  skin. 
He  shivered  and  looked  about  with  un 
easiness  on  the  landscape,  rapidly  growing 
sodden.  The  Indians  seemed  to  mind 
the  downpour  no  more  than  did  the  dogs. 
But  Jimmy  suddenly  felt  very  lonely.  The 
romance  of  the  Magic  Forest  had  quite 
departed,  and  he  began  to  think  of  his 
warm  home  and  his  mother  and  father, 
and  to  wonder  whether  he  JL  would  ever 
see  them  again.  After  a  vV  little  he 
began  to  cry  softly  to 
himself,  the  tears  min 
gling  with  the  raindrops 
running  down  his  cheeks. 
But  he  was  very  still 
about  it,  for  Taw-kwo  was 
in  a  canoe  near  him,  and  little 
May-may-gwan  was  paddling  sol 
emnly  in  the  bow  of  another  just 


72  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

behind.     The  raindrops  were  coursing  down 
her  cheeks,  too. 

All  that  day  Jimmy's  heart  grew  heavier 
and  heavier.  He  paddled  desperately  in 
order  to  keep  warm  and  so  toward  night 
grew  tired  also.  It 
was  a  very  blue  day. 
In  the  evening  he 
stood  by  the  fire  with 
the  Indians  and 
steamed.  To  his  sur 
prise  the  night  was  not 
so  bad.  The  roofs  of 
the  shelters  had  been  so  slanted  that  the 
heat  was  reflected  from  them  down  upon 
the  ground,  which  speedily  dried.  It  was 
a  little  damp,  but  not  all  uncomfortable. 

And  next  morning  the  sun  was  shining 
brightly  with  true  spring  warmth.  Thus 
Jimmy  passed  with  credit  through  his  trial 


THE   MAGIC    FOREST  73 

by  water.  Rain  and  cold  weather  were  al 
ways  disagreeable  to  him,  but  in  time  he 
learned  that  one  forgot  all  about  it  once  it 
was  finished. 

Only  twice  that  day  was  the  regular  prog 
ress  down  river  interrupted  by  anything 
exciting.  Long  stretches  of  still  water  were 
broken  by  swift  little  rapids,  where  Jimmy 
had  to  sit  very  still,  and  carries  through 
the  woods,  where  he  had  to  work  with 
the  others.  He  was  interested  all  the  time. 
The  most  trivial  incident  was  an  adventure. 

But  a  little  after  noon,  in  shooting  a 
particularly  crooked  and  turbulent  rapid, 
in  spite  of  the  best  efforts  of  Makwa  and 
Ah-kik,  the  canoe  scraped  sharply  against 
a  pointed  stone.  Instantly  the  water  be 
gan  to  rush  in  through  a  jagged  hole.  By 
good  fortune  this  was  at  the  foot  of  the 
rapid.  The  Indians  paddled  desperately 


74  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

across  the  pool  and  grounded  just  in  time. 
The  goods  were  hastily  thrown  out  and  the 
canoe  drawn  up  on  the  beach. 

Jimmy  looked   sadly  at   the  rent  in  the 
bottom  of  the  canoe.     It  was 
too  bad.     He  supposed  that 

now  the  day's  j°ur- 

-  ney  would  have 
to  be  given  up. 
But  Makwa  disappeared  in  the  woods 
while  Ah-kik  built  a  little  fire.  The  other 
Indians  continued  on  down-stream.  In  a 
moment  Makwa  returned  with  a  quantity 
of  spruce  pitch  on  a  bit  of  bark.  This  he 
cooked  over  the  fire  with  a  little  grease. 
Then  with  a  stick  of  wood  he  smeared  the 
melted  gum  about  the  hole,  laid  over  it 
smoothly  a  bit  of  sacking,  smeared  more 
gum  completely  to  cover  the  whole  affair, 
and  seared  it  close  with  a  brand  from  the 


Knee  deep  in  the  water  stood  a  cow  moose  and  her  calf." 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


77 


fire.  In  ten  minutes  the  canoe  was  as  good 
as  ever. 

About  an  hour  later  Makwa  whispered 
"  Moos-wa^  moos-wa."  Jimmy  had  learned 
by  now  that  when  Makwa  whispered,  some 
thing  interesting  was  afoot,  so  he  looked 
with  all  his  eyes.  There,  not  two  hundred 
yards  away,  knee  deep  in  the  water,  stood 
a  cow  moose  and  her  calf.  The  great  ani 
mals,  so  awkward  in  cap 
tivity  but  so  magnificent 
in  their  proper  surround 
ings,  stared  uncertainly  at 
the  gliding  canoes.  The 
wind  was  the  wrong 

way  for  the  scent,  and  ^p^^  a  moose  is 
not  easily  alarmed  by  ^  mere  sight.  In 
a  moment  they  waded  rapidly  ashore  and 
disappeared  with  a  long  swinging  trot,  but 
not  before  Jimmy  had  seen  well  the  Roman 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

nose,  the  big  eyes,  the  massive 
shoulders  of  the  animals.  As 
moose  to  him  had  always  seemed 
as  remote  as  goblins,  this  new 
phase  of  the  Magic  Forest  filled 
him  with  ecstatic  rapture.  And 
he  was  impressed  still  further  by 
the  lesson  of  woods  moderation, 
for  his  companions  had  made  no 
effort  to  kill  the  beautiful  creatures.  For 
the  present  there  was  meat  enough. 

That  evening  after  supper 
Jimmy  made  friends.  He  was 
not  so  sleepy  as  the  first  even 
ing  nor  so  uncomfortable  as  the 
second,  so  he  wandered  here 
and  there  trying  his  new  Ind 
ian  words.  Especially  did  the 
cradles  for  the  Indian  babies 
interest  him.  Everywhere  he 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


79 


was  smiled  upon  by  the  kindly  people. 
Some  even  made  him  little  presents  of 
ornaments.  Taw-kwo's  father  gave  him  a 


in 


sheath-knife  on  a 
acquainted   with 
and  joined  in  their 
gravely  cross-legged 
ing  his  turn  at  the 
with  the  rest.   Even 
days     he     had    ac- 
fair  vocabulary,  and 
stood    vaguely 
than  he  could 

The  next 

of  sixteen  wwp  l£d  him  hunting  in 
the  woods.  \y  Jimmy  was  awkward  but 
tried  hard,  and  after  a  number  of  futile 
stalks  the  two  succeeded  in  getting  within 
sight  of  one  of  the  drumming  partridges. 
The  bird  was  strutting  up  and  down  a 


belt.      He  became 
the  other   children 
games,     sitting 
in  a  circle,  tak- 
knuckle    bones 
the    three 
quired    a 
he  under- 
much  more 
remember, 
morning     a 


80  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

smooth  log,  puffed  out  like  a  turkey-cock, 
and  beating  his  wings  rapidly  to  produce 
the  hollow  wooden  drumming  Jimmy  had 
been  hearing  for  three  days.  The  Indian 
lad  drew  the  blunt  head  of  his  arrow  to  the 
bow.  Rap  I  it  struck 
a  tree  just  beyond  the 
partridge's  head.  The 
bird  flew  away. 

But  now  for  the  first 
time  Jimmy  felt  the  joy 
of  the  chase.  Here 
was  something  to  work 
for.  He  borrowed  the 
bow  and  the  blunt 
arrows,  and  at  every 
pause  rap -rap  -rapped 
the  trees  with  his  practice  shots.  By  dint 
of  imitation  he  succeeded  after  a  little  in 
acquiring  a  fair  accuracy,  though  of  course 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


81 


he  could  not  beat  his  Indian  friends.  Then 
he  set  to  work  to  stalk  a  partridge.  Dozens 
and  dozens  he  frightened  away  by  a  clumsy 
approach.  Four  times  his  arrow  went  wide. 
But  then  at  last  the  bird,  alarmed  by  the 
twang  of  the  bow,  raised  its  head  directly 
into  the  flying  arrow.  Jimmy  cast  his 
weapon  from  him,  and  fell  upon  the  game 
with  shrieks  of  delight. 

Asadi,  the  older  lad,  taught  him  how  to 
spread  a  horse-hair  loop  across  a  rabbit  trail, 
bending  down  a  sapling  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  would  spring  straight  when  disturbed, 
thus  jerking  the  rabbit 
into  the  air.  At 
the  foot  of 
some  of  the 
waterfalls 
great  fish 
ing  was  to  be 


82  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

had  with  the  hook  and  line.  A  morsel 
of  meat,  a  bright-colored  feather,  even  a 
metal  button  so  attached  as  to  whirl  was 
bait  enough.  There  was  no  waiting.  The 
instant  the  hook  touched  the  water  a  dozen 
swirling  fish  were  after  it.  Through  the 
long  evenings  the  big  fellows  could  be  seen 
jumping,  shooting  straight  out  into  the  air  to 
fall  back  with  a  heavy  splash.  Once  Jimmy 


hool        one    j*    these,  and    had    not    Asadi 

help  him,  he  would   have 

>oard.     And  when   at  last 

'liding  the  monster  on  to 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST  83 

a  flat  rock,  how  beautiful  he  was  with  his 
iridescent  eyes  and  the  bright  spots  of  his 
body. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  many 
wood's  puzzles  were  the  nu 
merous  footprints  to  be  seen 
on  the  wet  sand  of  the  beach. 
Asadi  or  Taw-kwo  or  even 
little  Oginik,  who  was  much 
younger  than  any  of  them, 
could  tell  him  their  names, 
but  only  long  experience 
taught  him  what  the  animals  might  be 
like.  "Makwa"  they  described  broad  heavy 
prints.  "  Me-en-gan"  said  they  when  shown 
others  smaller  and  rounder  and  not  so  flat. 
"  Bisiw,  "  they  replied  when  he  asked  about 
certain  padlike  signs.  But  he  did  not 
know  from  that. 

However,    one    day  as    the   canoes   were 


84  THE    MAGIC    FOREST 

paddling  down  a  long  narrow  lake,  Ah-kik 
called  his  attention  to  something  white  a 
long  distance  down  the  shore.  The  speck 
of  white  was  moving  slowly  toward  them.  In 
a  little  while  it  defined  itself  as  an  animal. 
Everybody  sat  quite  still.  The  beast  was 
not  in  a  hurry.  Sometimes  it  trotted,  some 
times  it  walked,  sometimes  it  stopped  to 
investigate  something  on  the  shore.  In  the 
canoes  the  dogs'  backs  were  all  bristling. 
Soon  Jimmy  could  see  that  the  animal  was 
not  white  but  gray,  and  that  it  looked  a 
great  deal  like  the  Indian  dogs  except  that 
it  was  larger  and  that  it  sloped  from  heavy 
shoulders  to  lighter  haunches.  When  just 
opposite  the  waiting  line  of  canoes,  the  Ind 
ians  raised  a  mighty  yell.  Startled,  the 
animal  scuddled  along  the  beach  like  the 
wind.  Point  after  point  it  passed,  still  run 
ning,  until  at  last,  again  as  a  white  speck,  it 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


bobbed  out  of  sight.     The  Indians  laughed 
consumedly. 

"Me-en-gan,"  explained  Ah-kik. 

But  Jimmy  knew  also  the 
English  name  now,  for  he  had 
often  watched  the  wolves  in 
Bronx  Park  cages. 

Makwa  he  learned  in  a  man 
ner  still  more  exciting.  He  and  Taw-kwo 
came  on  a  little  open  space  in  the  woods  one 
morning.  The  grass  was  almost  knee  high. 
Suddenly  out  of  it,  not  ten  feet  away,  a 
great  black  bear  rose  to  his  hind  legs  and 
said  woof  I  Now  if  a  human  being  in  a 
civilized  room  says  woof  to  you  suddenly, 
you  are  startled ;  but 
when  it  is  a  big  ani 
mal  in  a  wild  x- 
place,  you  beat  all  ^ 
records  on  the  back 


86  THE   MAGIC  FOREST 

jump.  At  least,  that  is  what  Jimmy  did, 
and  he  started  to  run  away,  but  Taw-kwo 
jumped  up  and  down  and  waved  his  arms 
frantically  and  shouted,  until  the  bear,  who 
was  a  peaceful  beast,  dropped  to  his  four 
feet  and  ambled  away.  "  Makwa,"  said 
Taw-kwo,  when  he  had  got  his  breath. 

But  the  third  was  the  most  exciting  of 
all.  That  particular  afternoon  the  Indians 
had  gone  into  camp  early,  and  now  the 
whole  band,  with  the  exception  of  Jimmy 
and  the  very  youngest  children,  were  off 
in  the  woods.  Jimmy  was  trying  to  make 
himself  an  arrow,  and  was  absorbed  in  the 
work.  Suddenly  he  heard  a  strange  squeak 
ing  noise  near  at  hand,  and  looked  up  to 
discover  two  large  gray  kittens  tumbling 
about  not  three  feet  away.  And  then,  com 
pelled  by  some  strange  hypnotic  influence, 
his  glance  raised  until  it  rested  with  a  start 


THE   MAGIC  FOREST  87 

of  alarm  on  the  pine  shadow  at  the    edge 
of  the  woods.     A  pair  of  fierce  yellow  eyes 

looked    into     his     own. 

T-    i    u     r    i      u 
Little  by  little,  he  made 

out    a    lithe    form,  pad- 
like   paws,  wide    whisk 
ers,  tasselled   ears.      And    all    at    once   he 
realized  that  the  beast  was  angry. 

At  that  moment  one  of  the  smaller  chil 
dren  discovered  the  kittens,  and  immedi 
ately  toddled  forward  to  investigate  such 
new  playmates.  A  low,  rumbling  growl 
broke  from  the  shadow.  Like  a  streak  of 
light  the  animal  sprang.  The  mere  weight 
of  its  body  knocked  the  child  from  its  feet. 
All  the  others  cried  out.  The  beast  hesi 
tated,  one  paw  on  the  pappoose's  chest,  un 
decided  what  to  do. 

Jimmy  was  frightened,  but  he  remem 
bered  seeing  Makwa's  gun  standing  against 


88 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


him. 


a    log    behind 

At   his    first   movement   the 
am-  mal  growled  again  and  opened 

and  shut  its  claws  restlessly.  Jimmy  moved 
as  cautiously  as  he  could.  The  little  Indian 
lay  quite  still.  Finally,  the  long  trade  gun 
was  in  the  white  boy's  hands.  He  had  to 
rest  the  but  on  the  ground  and  use  both 
hands  to  cock  it,  and  even  then  it  was  so 
heavy  that  he  could  just  lift  it  to  his  eyes. 
The  first  movement  of  the  muzzle  caused 
the  beast  to  utter  a  perfect  thunder-storm 
of  snarls.  Jimmy  knew  that  he  had  but 
a  moment.  He  pointed  the  waver 
ing  barrel  as  well  as  he 
could,  and 
pulled  the  trigger. 

That  was  all  he  knew 
about    it.       His    next 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST  ^9 

sensation  was  of  water  in  the  face,  followed 
by  an  increasing  ache  in  the  region  of  his 
shoulder.  The  trade  gun,  unskilfully  held, 
had  kicked  him  about  ten  feet. 

But  there  was  the  baby,  sound  and  well ; 
and  there  was  the  animal,  minus  half  its 
head ;  and  there  were  the  kittens,  unfortu 
nately  killed  by  the  returning  dogs ;  and 
there  was  Jimmy  with  a  brand  new  bit  of 
information,  —  that  bisiw,1  with  the  broad, 
padlike  prints,  was  a  huge  cat. 

And  so  the  days  went  by.  Sometimes 
they  floated  all  day ;  sometimes  they 
struggled  through  woods ;  sometimes 
they  toiled  painfully  through  swamps. 
They  endured  rain,  wind,  cold.  Always 
the  spring  advanced  and  the  freshet 
waters  receded.  Young  ducks  began  to  be 
seen.  The  trees  of  the  forest  grew  smaller. 

1  Canadian  lynx. 


9o 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


Caribou  took  the  place  of  deer, 
jimmy  could  talk  with  his 
friends  now,  and,  by 
dint  of  much  lis 
tening,  could  under 
stand  most  of  what 
was  said. 

At  last,  after  coursing  for  many  miles 
down  a  broad  swift  stream  without  rapids, 
they  came  to  where  another  river  joined 
theirs,  and  on  the  point  formed  by  the  junc 
tion  they  went  ashore  and  established  a  per 
manent  camp.  First  the  women  pitched  the 
conical  teepees 
with  the  many 
poles.  Then 
they  built  fire- 
holes  and  hung 
kettles.  Then 
they  cut  quantities 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  91 

of  balsam  for  the  floors  and  to  scatter  on 
the  thresholds.  And  finally  they  began  the 
construction  of  a  long  rectangular  lodge  of 
poles  and  branches  and  decorated  skins. 

In  the  meantime  the  men  were  all  off 
hunting,  and  the  boys  were  conducting  an 
industrious  fishery.  The  spoils  were  sliced 
thin,  and  jerked,  or  smoked.  Then  they 
were  laid  on  scaffolds  out  of  reach  of  the 
dogs.  In  a  week  the  camp  was  bountifully 
supplied. 

And  finally  the  packs  were  undone  and 
all  the  gorgeous  beaded  and  ornamented 
finery  brought  out,  brushed  and  aired,  after 
which  the  entire  band  settled  into  what 
seemed  to  Jimmy  to  be  an  anxious  waiting. 
He  asked  them  about  it,  and  they  replied, 
but  the  words  were  of  those  he  had  not 
learned.  He  only  knew  that  around  the 
lower  bend  a  sentinel  always  stood.  And 


92  THE    MAGIC   FOREST 

one  morning  early  that  sentinel  fired  a  shot. 
Instantly  the  camp  swarmed  into  view. 
The  men,  seizing  their  guns,  ran  eagerly  to 
the  point.  Jimmy  followed  in  breathless 
excitement. 


CHAPTER   IV 

JIMMY  ran  as  hard 
as  he  could 
in  the  direction 
of  the  firing.  When 
he  arrived  out  of  breath 
at  the  point,  he  saw  in  the  middle  distance 
a  flotilla  of  canoes  working  its  way  slowly 
against  the  current.  His  own  friends  were 
busily  reloading,  and  as  he  watched,  another 
volley  rang  out,  which  was  immediately 
answered  by  the  approaching  strangers. 
The  disappointing  part,  however,  was  that 
the  muskets  were  all  pointed  skyward. 
And  in  a  few  minutes,  when  the  new  canoes 
has  reached  the  point,  their  occupants 
H  97 


98  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

stepped  ashore    and  were  greeted  solemnly 
with  much  hand-shaking. 

The  band  consisted  of  fifty  or  sixty 
grown  people  and  a  sprinkling  of  children. 
They  were  shorter  and  broader 
faced  than  Jimmy's  friends, 
and,  as  he  soon 
discovered,  talked 
a  different  lan 
guage.  The  men  were  immediately  con 
ducted  to  the  clearing,  while  the  women 
began  unloading  the  canoes.  In  a  few 
hours  another  camp  had  been  established 
a  hundred  feet  or  so  from  the  old  one, 
and  then  began  an  interchange  of  stately 
visits  between  the  men,  of  giggling  gossipy 
meetings  by  the  women,  of  fights  and  final 
reconciliations  among  the  dogs.  With 
the  children  it  was  very  much  the  same. 
At  first  they  circled  warily  about  one 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


99 


another,   then    they   quarrelled,   then    they 
became  fast  friends. 

The  Ojibways  gave  the  Crees  food  from 
the  stores  they  had  accumulated ;  the  Crees 


in    return     presented    vari- 
side   luxuries,  such 
geese   and   dried 
fish.    Jimmy 
lighted  to  re- 
a  little  Cree 
ofstiffmoc- 
out  of  seal- 
fur   on   the 
able  to  give 


ous  sea- 
as  smoked 
salt-water 
was  de 
ceive  from 
boy  a  pair 
casins  made 


skin,  with  the 
inside  ;  and  to  be 
in  return  two  blunt- 
headed  ar-  *^  rows  of  maple — a  wood 
unknown  so  far  north. 

Then  followed  the  long  lazy  days  of  the 
permanent  camp.  Jimmy  and  his  compan 
ions  found  the  pools  where  there  was  no 
current,  and  there  they  spent  nearly  half  of 


100 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


every  day  in  and  out  of  the  water.  Jimmy 
was  tanned  almost  to  the  color  of  his  Indian 
friends  by  the  hot,  north-country  sun. 
They  fished  in  the  riffles.  They  explored 
the  woods  roundabout  until  they  knew 
every  inch  of  it  for  five  miles,  and  by  an 
infinite  patience  and  many  trials,  they  man 
aged  to  kill  a  respectable  number  of  the  cock 
partridges,  the  spruce-grouse,  and  the  brown 
ptarmigan.  They  set  their  traps  for  musk- 
rats,  and  looked  with  longing  eyes  on  the 
trails  of  mink  and  a  certain  beaver  colony, 
but  the  elders  sternly  forbade  them  to  dis 
turb  the  fur-bearing  animals  at  this  time  of 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  101 

year.     But  best  fun  of  all  was  the  game  of 
War  Party, 

Asadi  and  one  of  the  Cree  boys  would 
choose  sides.  Each  boy  would  be  armed 
with  two  or  three  blunt  arrows  whose  points 
had  been  padded  with  moss,  bound  securely 
with  buckskin.  One  party  would  disappear 
in  the  woods,  and  after  an  interval  the  other 
would  follow.  Then  were  ambushes,  sur 
prises,  crafty  retreats.  The  children  glided 
through  the  forest  with  all  the 
stealth  of  the  wild  animals  them 
selves.  They  lurked  behind  logs, 
watching  with  keen  bright  eyes. 
They  tracked  the  enemy,  or  cov 
ered  their  own  trails  in  order  that 
they  might  not  be  tracked  in  turn. 
And  at  any  moment  you  were  likely 
to  be  startled  by  the  sharp 
twang!  of  a  bow  and  bruised 


102  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

severely  by  the  heavy  blow  of  an  arrow. 
For  although  the  missiles  were  padded  to 
prevent  actual  injury,  they  hurt  enough  to 
make  it  a  real  object  not  to  be  "killed"; 
for  when  you  were  killed,  you  had  to  return 
to  camp  and  play  with  the  little  girls. 

Of  course,  Jimmy  had  neither  the  inher 
ited  nor  the  acquired  skill,  so  much  of  his 
time  he  spent  in  camp.  But  he  improved 
rapidly,  and  the  certainty  of  being  black  and 
blue  in  a  fresh  place  added  ex 
citement  to  the  game.  And, 
oh,  glorious  thought!  twice  he 
"killed"  members  of  the  oppos 
ing  party.  Besides  which  he 
liked  the  little  girls.  When  they 
were  not  helping  their  mothers 
they  were  very  kind  to  him, 
and  showed  him  their  rag  dolls 
and  taught  him  divers  interesting, 


j 

The  children  glided  through  the  forest." 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


105 


quiet    camp    games.       Some    of    them    he 
liked  very  much. 

And  in  the  camp  life  itself  there  was 
always  much  to  attract  his  attention.  The 
women  were  making  buckskin,  were  orna 
menting  with  beads  various  articles  of  cloth 
ing,  and  the  men  were  conducting,  inside 
the  big  lodge  made  of  poles  and  branches, 
some  mysterious  and  noisy  ceremony. 

Jimmy  never 
got  a  glimpse  of 
what  was  going 
on  inside,  but  he 
was  content  to 
sit  by  the  hour 
in  the  hot  sun, 
listening  to  the 
modulated  rise 
and  fall  of  weird  minor  songs,  the  clatter 
of  bones,  the  boom  of  drums,  the  shuffle  of 


io6 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


hands  and  feet. 
Every  once  in 
a  while  one 
of  the  men 
would  appear 
for  a  moment 
at  the  door 
way,  his  gaze 
exalted,  his  fea 
tures  painted 
in  brilliant 
stripes  or 
dots,  his  form 
dressed  all  in 
fringed  buckskin  lavishly  ornamented  with 
beads.  And  it  was  a  pure  delight  at  last, 
when  the  conjuring  was  over,  to  see  the 
strangely  clad  men  come  forth  into  the 
gathering  dusk  and  file  silently  to  their 
teepees.  Jimmy's  little  heart  always  sensed 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


107 


a  thrill  at  what  he  somehow  dimly  felt  to 
be  a  reincarnation  of  a  glorious  past. 

Now  the  days  were  very  long.  The  sun 
did  not  set  until  nearly  nine  o'clock.  And 
at  night  Jimmy  was  astonished  and  filled 
with  awe  by  the  brilliant  aurora  that  shot 
its  many-colored  flames  far  over  the  zenith. 

Among  the  older  men  of  the  Cree  band 
Jimmy  made  no  friends.  This  was  natural, 
for  a  brave  had  little  time  for  a  child.  But 
of  course  his  presence  was  remarked  by 
them,  and  received 
much  discussion. 

Now  it  happened 
that  in  the  Cree  band 
was  a  French  half- 
breed,  Antoine  Lavio- 
lette,  who  in  winter 
was  a  post-keeper  for  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  but  who  in  summer  preferred 


io8  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

if 

to  travel  with  his  savage  kinsmen.  One 
evening  Jimmy  was  vastly  astonished  to  be 
addressed  by  this  man.  It  was  the  first 
English  the  little  boy  had  heard  since  old 
Makwa  had  questioned  him. 

"  'Ullo  !  "  he  said ;  "  how  you  do  ?  " 

"  Hullo  !  "  replied  Jimmy. 

In  ten  minutes  they  were  chatting  to 
gether  familiarly.  And  from  that  time  on, 
Jimmy  had  a  new  interest  in  the  long  twi 
lights  after  the  evening  meal  had  been 
eaten.  For  Antoine  Laviolette  was  in 
clined  by  race  to  talk,  and  by  nature  to 
talk  well,  and  he  liked  an  appreciative 
audience. 

"  Jeemy  !  "  he  would  call.  "  Com'  here  ! 
You  evaire  hear  'bout  dose  salt  water,  how 
she  is  come  to  be  no  good  for  drink  ? " 

And  then  Jimmy,  wide-eyed,  would  hear 
of  the  Animal  Council  and  its  plottings 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


109 


against     Si-kak, 

the  great  skunk, 

and        how 

the    carcajou 

helped     to    -jsg 

kill  him,  but 

was    defiled    with 

the  oil,  and  how 

the     carcajou     in 

washing      himself 

tainted  the  sea-water  so   that  it  is  unfit  to 

drink.       Or    he     learned    why    the    great 

Manitou  twisted  some  of  the  trees  so  their 
wood  does  not  split  straight, 
or  why  the  ermine's  fur 
changes  from  red  to  white 
in  winter.  Or  he  heard 
all  about  Hiawatha,  just 
as  you  can  read  about 
him  in  Longfellow  to 


no  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

this  day,  the  same  legends  with  the  same 
names.  It  was  all  very  wonderful  to  him, 
and  it  brought  very  close  to  him  the  ani 
mals  of  the  woods.  He  came  to  look 
on  them  as  the  Indian  does,  not  as  inferior 
to  himself,  but  merely  as  different;  or,  to 
put  it  the  other  way,  he  grew  to  consider 
himself  and  his  companions  as  animals  of 
another  sort,  speaking  a  different  language, 
and  living  a  different  life,  but  not  essentially 
of  different  race. 

So  he  understood  why  when  a  beaver 
was  killed  for  the  Moon  Feast,  a  fillet 
braided  of  worsted  and  doeskin  thongs 
was  tied  around  the  animal's  tail,  and  why 
Ta-wap,  the  hunter,  dressed  in  his  best 
clothes  before  going  out  to  kill  a  bear, 
and  why  the  cleaned  skulls  of  some  beasts 
were  placed  on  stakes  near  running  water. 
For  though  it  was  necessary  that  these 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


in 


creatures   die,   the   Ind 
ians     did     such 
honors  to   their 
spirits. 

And    now   in 
the  Berry  Moon\ 
a     sad     event  - 
sobered    the     camp. 


For  little  Si-gwan  ate  of  a  poisonous  mush 
room,  and  in  spite  of  the  conjuring  and 
the  herbs  and  the  charms,  she  grew  sicker 
and  weaker  until  she  died.  Then  in  the 
teepee  of  her  people  was  the  sound  of 
wailing.  The  women  let 
loose  their  hair  and  scat 
tered  ashes  on  their  heads 
and  raised  their  voices  in 
lamentations,  while  Au- 
mick,  the  little  girl's  father,  painted  his 
face  to  represent  mourning. 


ii2  THE   MAGIC  FOREST 

The  burial  services  took  place  in  the 
evening  between  two  great  fires.  The 
Indians  squatted  soberly  cross-legged  in  a 
circle,  all  dressed  in  their  finest  garments. 
In  the  centre  was  a  raised  platform  of 
boughs  on  which  lay  a  birch- 
bark  coffin.  Below  it  sat  the 
bereaved  family,  their  hair  and 
garments  in  disorder,  their  eyes 
downcast.  Jimmy  huddled  near 
his  friend,  Antoine  Laviolette. 
In  the  stillness,  the  awe  of 
dark  and  of  firelight  and  of 
dancing  shadows  and  of  a 
grave,  silent  people  overflowed 
his  little  heart. 

After  a  long  interval  old  Makwa  advanced 
to  the  centre  of  the  circle. 

"  Oh,  Wabisi,  my  little  sister,"  said  he, 
addressing  the  mother,  "  it  is  not  well  that 


Old  Mak\va  advanced  to  the  centre  of  the  circle. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

you  grieve.  For  if  our  daughter  had 
grown,  she  would  many  times  have  been 
hungry  and  cold  and  weary.  But  now 
where  she  has  gone  there  is  no  hunger  nor 
cold,  and  there  is  no  weariness.  Therefore 
you  should  be  glad."  He  stooped  and 
slashed  his  knife  twice  through  the  birch 
bark  of  the  coffin.  "  Oh,  Kitche  manito  !  " 
he  cried,  "these  places  do  I  cut  that 
our  daughter's  spirit  may 
come  and  go  as  she  wills 
it,  that  she  may  visit  us 
sometimes,  that  she  may 
see  our  little  sister,  Wabisi, 
when  she  is  very  sad." 
Again  he  turned  to  the 
mother.  "  Our  daughter 
is  gone,  oh,  my  little  sister,"  he  continued, 
"but  on  the  day  when  Pau-guk1  takes 
1  The  Death  Spirit. 


n6  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

you,  then  you  shall  see  her  again.  But 
she  will  be  all  changed,  and  you  will  not 
know  her,  but  when  you  enter  that  Land 
of  the  Hereafter,  then  you  must  sing 
always  this  little  song,  and  so  she  shall 
know  you."  In  a  surprisingly  clear  and 
true  tenor  old  Makwa  chanted  a  weird 
minor  air  with  tearful  falling  cadences. 
"And  when  she  hears  that  song,"  he 
went  on,  "then  she  will  answer  it  with 
this."  He  sang  through  another  little 
song.  The  long-drawn  plaintive  chords 
gripped  Jimmy's  throat  so  that  he  sobbed 
aloud.  "And  in  that  way  you  shall  know 
one  another." 

The  young  men  bore  the  coffin  to  a 
grave  that  had  already  been  dug  a  short 
distance  away  in  the  pine  groves.  After 
the  earth  had  been  filled  in,  three  of  the 
women  knelt  and  deftly  put  together 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  117 

a  miniature  wigwam  of  birch  bark,  com 
plete  in  every  detail.  Then  old  Makwa 
began  again  to  speak,  addressing  the  grave 
in  a  low  tone  of  confidence. 

"  Oh,  Si-gwan,  our  little  daughter,"  said 
he,  "  I  place  this  bow  ^  and  these 

ft  Ik     n 

arrows  in  your  lodge  that    ^jf   you  may  be 

armed     on     the     Long 

Journey. 

"Oh,    Si-gwan, 
our   little    daugh 
ter,  I  place  this 
knife  in  your 
lodge  that  you 
may  be  armed  on  the  Long  Journey. 

"  Oh,  Si-gwan,  our  little  daughter,  I  place 
these  snow-shoes  in  your  lodge  that  you 
may  be  fleet  on  the  Long  Journey." 

And  in  like  manner  he  deposited  in  the 
little  wigwam  extra  moccasins,  a  model 


n8 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


canoe  and  paddle,  food,  and 
a  miniature  robe. 

Then   quietly  they   all 
returned     to     camp,  — 
all    but    Wabisi,    the 
bereaved      mother. 
She    huddled    on     the 
ground    by   the    grave, 
her    blanket    over    her 
head.     Jimmy  dreamed 
that  night  of  the  silent, 
motionless      figure      of 
.      desolation. 

For  three  \\  whole  days  and  nights 
the  Indian  woman  mourned  her  child,  then 
arose  and  went  about  her  ordinary  duties 
with  unmoved  countenance.  And  the  little 
grave  was  left  to  the  sun  and  snow  and 
rain  and  the  mercy  of  an  all-explaining, 
all-forgetting  Nature. 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


119 


And  now  the  time  had  come,  at  the  latter 
end  of  the  Berry  Moon  and  just  before 
the  Many-Caribou-in-the- Woods  Moon,  to 
break  up  the  permanent  camp.  The  Crees 
had  to  return  to  Moose  Factory  at  the 
Hudson  Bay,  thence  to  set  out  for  their 
winter  trapping  grounds ;  the  Ojibways 
were  now  to  retrace  their  steps  to  Chap- 
leau  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  their 


treaty  money  from  the  Canadian  govern 
ment.  Jimmy  was  not  aware  of  the  mean 
ing  of  this,  nor  that  when  once  the  canoes 
should  breast  the  current,  he  would  be 


120  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

headed  toward  the  railroad  again.  He 
only  knew  that  a  move  was  imminent,  and 
was  glad  of  it.  The  home  camp  was  fun, 
but  the  adventures  of  travelling  were  better. 

He  *  never  knew  how  close  he  came  to 
being  j|  taken  by  the  Crees  many,  many 

miles  farther 
north  to  his 
supposed  home 
at  York  Factory  on  the  shores  of  the  Hud 
son  Bay.  Antoine  Laviolette  was  the  lucky 
element  in  that.  He  it  was  who  told  the 
headmen  that  the  child  was  not  a  saganash? 
as  they  had  supposed,  but  a  kitch-mokamen? 
who  lived  far  south  of  the  Ojibway  country. 
So  when  the  time  came  to  part,  Jimmy 
remained  with  his  old  friends. 

The  Ojibways  broke  camp  first,  as  they 
had  the  longer  journey  to  go.  When  the 

1  Englishman.  2  Big  knife,  i.e.  American. 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


121 


canoes  were  all  loaded,  the  Crees 
came  down  to  wish  them  a  good 
journey.  And  then,  after  the 
little  craft  were  actually  afloat,  a 
dozen  young  boys  dashed  into 
the  water  for  the  purpose  of 
dropping  presents  of  fish,  game, 
and  ornamented  work  into  the 
boats  of  the  departing  tribe. 
They  waited  thus  until  the  latest 
possible  moment  in  order  that  the  recipi 
ents  of  the  gifts  might  not  feel  called  on 
to  return  something  of  equal  value.  A 
volley  of  musketry  was  answered  by  another 
from  the  canoes.  The  flotilla  moved  slowly 
forward  against  the  current. 


'v. 
"    <' 


CHAPTER  V 


CHAPTER  V 

DAY  after  day  the  Magic  Forest  slipped  by. 
The  going  was  often  very  difficult  against 
the  current,  and  sometimes  Jimmy,  with  the 
others,  had  to  step  out  in  the  shallow  water 
of  a  riffle  for  the  purpose  of  helping  along 
the  canoe.  Or  again  the  Indians  had  to 
push  for  many  miles  with  poles,  or  they  even 
had  to  turn  themselves  into  tow  horses 
and  pull  while  one  of  their  number  steered. 
The  banks  of  the  river  were  stony  and 
sometimes  abrupt ;  or  swampy  with  deep 
entangling  grasses.  When  Jimmy  had  to 
walk,  which  was  frequently,  he  found  it  very 
hard  to  keep  up,  and  by  night  he  was  com 
pletely  tired  out. 

127 


128 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


But  as  compensation,  the  waters  swarmed 
with  young  ducks,  full  grown  but  as  yet 
unable  to  fly ;  and  the  woods  teemed  with 
young  partridges  which  would  sit  still  in 

trees  while  he  shot 
arrow  after  arrow. 
And  every  once  in  a 
while,  where  the  trees 
had  been  blown  flat 
by  some  old-time 
storm  or  burned  out 
by  fire,  the  chil 
dren  would  come 
upon  a  patch  of 
the  delicious  wild  raspberries,  hanging  in 
clusters  ready  to  be  stripped  into  the  hands. 
Then  they  would  stuff  themselves  and  fill 
bark  mokoks  l  to  carry  to  the  canoes.  The 
big  black  bears  were  often  to  be  encountered 
1 A  sort  of  Indian  box. 


Jimmy  learned  that  a  bear  with  cubs  is  not  to  be  trifled  with. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  131 

in  these  berry  patches.  At  first  Jimmy 
used  to  be  frightened,  but  after  a  little  he 
imitated  his  companions,  who  merely  raised 
a  shout  to  scare  the  beasts  away.  Once, 
however,  they  did  not  attempt  this,  but 
dropped  below  the  cover  of  the  bushes  and 
sneaked  cautiously  out  of  range.  And 
Jimmy  learned  that  a  bear  with  cubs  is 
not  to  be  trifled  with. 

Jimmy  by  now  was  thoroughly  accustomed 
to  his  new  life.  He  spoke  the  Ojibway 
fluently,  if  not  always  with  absolute  correct 
ness  in  the  flexible  verb  forms,  and  under 
stood  all  that  was  said  to  him.  He  liked 
the  other  children,  and  was  accepted  by  them 
as  one  of  themselves.  If  occasionally  he 
felt  slightly  homesick,  some  new  incident  of 
the  rapidly  changing  life  drove  the  feeling 
almost  immediately  from  his  heart.  He 
was  not  selfish,  or  without  affection,  but 


132  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

was  simply  a  natural, 
fe  healthy  boy,  keenly 
//////  alive  to  everything 
about  him,  and  en 
tirely  happy  as  long 
as  the  novelty  and  the 
wonder  lasted. 
Now  the  stream  narrowed 
and  became  more  often  broken.  One  day 
the  band  did  nine  separate  portages.  The 
next  it  glided  out  into  a  series  of  long 
narrow  lakes  connected  by  threads  of  water 
that  were  hardly  more  than  good-sized 
brooks.  Finally, 
it  arrived  at 
a  foam -flecked 
pool  at  the  r^^^-^3^  foot  of  a  rapid. 
"Here is  s&^  where  we  found  you," 
Makwa  told  him. 
Jimmy  looked.  It  all  came  back  to  him 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  133 

vividly  —  the  cold,  the  awakening  to 
boulder  hills  and  wraith  forest,  the  struggle 
through  the  woods,  the  Indian  canoes  leap 
ing  down  the  rapid.  And  then  his  mind 
followed  the  natural  sequence  still  farther. 
He  felt  the  sway  and  rattle  of  the  train,  the 
good-night  kiss  on  his  lips,  his  mother's 
caressing  voice. 

"Is  it  far  to  New  York?"  he  asked 
Makwa  again. 

And  Makwa,  who  had  been  told  some 
things,  though  vaguely,  by  Antoine  Lavio- 
lette,  answered  him  as  before,  "Very  far." 
But  beyond  that  he  said  nothing,  for  he 
knew  that  now  the  little  boy  must  leave 
them,  and  his  heart  was  sad. 

An  Indian,  or  indeed  any  north-country 
voyageur,  for  that  matter,  does  not  like  to 
arrive  at  his  journey's  end  late  in  the  after 
noon.  It  takes  away  from  the  impressive- 


134  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

ness  of  the  occasion.  Often  he  prefers  to 
go  to  camp  within  fifteen  minutes  of  his 
destination  rather  than  miss  the 
pomp  of  an  observed  entry  into 
town.  So  in  the  present 
instance.  Makwa  and 
his  people  pitched  camp 
just  within  the  fringe  of 
the  woods  beyond  which 
lay  Chapleau  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail 
road.  But  to  Jimmy  the  place  looked  no 
different,  no  nearer  civilization  than  had 
the  point  at  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers 
some  hundreds  of  miles  farther  north. 

But  that  night,  —  after  he  had  rolled  him 
self  in  his  rabbit-skin  robe,  —  contrary  to 
his  usual  custom  he  did  not  at  once  fall 
asleep.  The  fire  danced  with  the  shadows. 
Jimmy  stared  at  them  wistfully.  The 
thoughts  evoked  by  Makwa's  simple  words 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


would  not  be  downed.  For 
the  first  time  his  heart  turned 
with  all  its  power  toward  the 
home  he  had  so  mysteriously 
left.  One  after  another  the 
details  of  it  rose  before  his 
mind  —  the  soft  bed,  the 
dainty  room,  the  toys,  the  quiet 
servants,  the  warmed  apartments, 
and  above  all  his  beautiful  young 
mother  who  loved  him  so  deeply.  Jimmy 
swallowed  hard.  He  would  like  to  see 
them  all  again.  Out  in  the  Magic  Forest 
a  little  owl  was  blowing  its  tin  trumpet, 
ko-ko-ko-oh !  it  cried.  The  shad 
ows  danced,  growing 
huger  and  more  fantastic 
before  the  boy's  blurred 
vision.  By  and  by  they  faded. 
Jimmy  had  fallen  asleep.  But, 


136  THE   MAGIC  FOREST 

just  as  four  months  before,  he  left  con 
sciousness  bearing  a  great  longing  in  his 
heart.  Then  it  had  been  the  vision  of  the 
Long  Trail,  bodied  by  wistful  musings 
through  a  snow-stained  window;  now  it 
was  a  dream  of  home. 

A  little  after  two  o'clock  Jimmy  threw 
aside  the  cover  and  sat  up.  Swiftly,  yet 
with  movements  precise  in  their  certainty, 
he  dressed  himself  in  his  day  garments. 
With  equal  precision  he  took  his  way  out 
of  the  sleeping  camp. 
A  voice  hailed  him. 
He  answered  with  per 
fect  coherence.  In  a 
moment  he  had  gained 
the  clearing,  and  in  a 
moment  more  was  trudg 
ing  down  the  broad,  dusty  street  of  the  little 
frontier  town.  Straight  ahead  he  walked, 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  137 

his  eyes  fixed,  between  the  rows  of  houses. 
At  the  foot  of  the  street  he  turned  sharply 
to  the  left,  mounted  accurately  a  little 
wooden  platform,  and  turned  in  the  direc 
tion  of  a  flaring  train  just  bearing  down 
on  the  primitive  station.  A  sleepy  agent 
spoke  to  him.  Again  he  answered,  but 
his  reply  was  lost  in  the  roar  of  the  train. 
In  the  confusion  Jimmy  clambered  aboard, 
turned  to  the  right,  went  directly  to  Lower 
7,  parted  the  curtains,  and  fell  back  on  the 
empty  berth  with  a  sigh  of  relief.  When 
the  train  pulled  out  a  moment  later,  Jimmy 
was  curled  up  in  a  comfortable  little  ball, 
his  arm  tucked  under  the  pillow,  and  his 
eyes  fast  shut. 

He  was  finally  awakened  by  a  shaft  of 
sunlight  that  struck  him  squarely  in  the 
face.  His  first  impression  was  that  he  had 


138  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

been  allowed  to  sleep  very  late,  for  it  had 
been  the  custom  of  his  Indian  friends  to 
turn  out  before  the  sun  had  risen  above 
the  forest  trees.  Then  his  consciousness 
brought  to  him  a  regular  clinkety-chnk, 
clinkety-chnk.  In  very  terror  he  shut  his 
eyes  tight  again. 

After  a  few  moments  he  ventured  to 
peep.  Above  him  was  a  dull,  polished  sur 
face  in  which  dimly  he  made  out  his  own 
figure.  To  the  right  were  two  darkened 
squares  about  whose  edges  streamed  the 
sun.  To  the  left  swayed  in  irregular  mo 
tion  the  folds  of  curtains.  And  the  mattress 
on  which  he  lay  swayed,  too,  in  time  to  the 
metallic  noises  of  a  train's  motion. 

Gradually  Jimmy  took  it  all  in.  He  was 
aided  in  this  experience  by  that  of  the 
morning  so  long  ago  when  he  had  as  mys 
teriously  found  himself  on  the  boulder- 


THE    MAGIC   FOREST 


139 


strewn  hillside.  The  wand  of  enchantment 
had  waved  again.  He  was  back  in  the 
train.  Of  course  his  father  and  mother 
must  be  near. 

He  parted   the  curtains  and   looked  out 
directly  into  the  face  of  the 
negro     porter.       The     latter 
stared. 

"Wat  you  a-doin'  yere ? " 
he  demanded. 

Then  Jimmy  swung  to  the 
floor,  so  that  not  only  his 
head  but  his  buckskin-clad 
body  came  into  view. 

"  Foh   de  Lo'd  !  "   ejaculated  the   porter. 

Jimmy  knew  exactly  what  he  wanted  to 
say,  but  the  unaccustomed  English  words 
stuck  in  his  throat.  At  last  he  managed 
to  stammer. 

"Where!     Mamma?" 


140  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

The  negro  porter  was  still  in  a  collapse  of 
surprise,  but  the  sleeping-car  conductor,  who 
had  been  approaching,  took  in  the  situation  at 
a  glance.  The  whole  line  had  been  looking 
for  the  lost  boy  during  the  last  five  months. 

"  Is  your  name  Ferris  ? "  asked  the  con 
ductor,  sharply. 

Jimmy  nodded. 

And  then  there  was  excitement,  you  may 
be  sure.  Telegrams  flew  again,  but  this 
time  they  were  telegrams  of  joy.  Jimmy's 
father  and  mother  boarded  a  west-bound 
train. 

All  the  railroad  men  and  the  passengers 
made  much  of  the  little  boy.  They  petted 
him  and  gave  him  things  to  eat  and  drink 
and  bought  him  things  to  wear.  But  they 
could  not  get  him  to  talk. 

"  Where  have  you  been  all  this  time  ? " 
asked  the  big  conductor. 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  141 

"  In  fairy  land/'  replied  Jimmy,  gravely. 

A  shiny  commercial  traveller  laughed  long 
and  loud  at  this  reply  and  at  the  boy's 
serious  face.  After  that  Jimmy  kept  silence. 
They  would  not  believe,  so  what  was  the 
use  in  telling  them  ? 

And  late  one  afternoon  two  people  jumped 
eagerly  aboard  the  train,  and  gathered 
Jimmy  up  in  a  great  hug  composed  of 


laughter  and  of  tears,  and  so  his  little  heart 
overflowed,  and  he  realized  that  in  spite  of 
the  excitement  of  the  Magic  Forest,  he  had 
wanted  his  mother  all  along.  So  thereafter 
he  journeyed  home  with  his  own  people. 


I42 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


But  here  too  he  was  forced  to  silence. 
"  Now  tell  me  all  about  where  you  have 
been,"  said  his  mother,  after  they 
had  all  calmed  down  a  little. 

So  Jimmy  began  to  tell 
them,  in  fairy-story  language, 
just  as  Grimm  or  Andersen 
would  have  told  of  the  Ugly 
Duckling,  or  some  such  matter. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ferris  could  make  neither 
head  nor  tail  of  it. 

"  But,  darling,"  expostulated  Mrs.  Ferris, 
"  it  couldn't  have  been  that  way !  When 
and  how  did  you  leave  the  train  ? " 

"  I  was  trans-ported  with  a  mag-ic  wand," 
explained  Jimmy,  "and  then  in  the  Magic 
Forest  I  met  Makwa,  you  see." 

However,  in 
spite  of  his  ef 
forts  to  make  every- 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST  143 

thing  plain,  they  insisted  on  returning  again 
and  again  to  the  same  point.  Jimmy  quickly 
came  to  his  old  conclusion,  that  grown-ups 
are  stupid.  Soon  he  gave  it  up  altogether. 
They  did  not  believe.  What  was  the  use  ? 
So  he  locked  up  the  story  of  the  Magic 
Forest  in  his  little  heart  along  with  his  firm 


beliefs  in  genii  and  water-babies  and  brownies 
and  such  folk.  Try  as  they  might,  the 
grown-ups  could  never  induce  him  to  say 
another  word  as  to  his  mysterious  five 
months'  experience.  To  all  questions  he 
replied  vaguely.  The  only  clews  they  had 
were  the  garments  he  had  worn,  and  the 
strange  syllables  he  sometimes  used,  acciden- 


144 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


tally  in  conversation  or  in  naming  animals 
at  the  zoological  parko  Mr.  Ferris  caused 
diligent  inquiry  to  be  made,  but  learned 
nothing.  Makwa  and  his  band  had  received 
their  annual  bounty,  and  were  now  far  away 
in  the  wilds. 

And    sometimes    now,    in    the    twilight, 


before  Morris,  the  -  butler,  has  come  in  to 
light  the  lamps,  little  Jimmy  tucks  his  legs 
under  him  in  the  big  leather  library  chair 


THE   MAGIC   FOREST 


*45 


and  dreams  of  the  enchanted  months.  He 
sees  once  more  the  dark  fringe  of  the  forest, 
the  swirl  and  glitter  of  the  stream,  the  colors 
of  the  Indian  encampment;  he  hears  the 
dash  of  the  rapids,  the  cries  of  beasts,  the 
soft  lisping  chatter  of  the  Ojibway  language; 
he  smells  the  freshness  of  balsam,  the  pun 
gent  wood  smoke,  the  fragrance  of  new 
buckskin.  One  after  another  the  events  of 
the  enchanted  months  rise  before  his  eyes. 
He  sees  them  all  plainly,  but  without  regret, 
for  he  is  firmly  convinced  that  they  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  Magician,  and  so  he  does 
not  long  for  them  as  we  long  for  past  pleas- 


146  THE   MAGIC   FOREST 

ures  that  might  possibly  be  repeated.  But 
when  it  is  quite  dark,  and  the  shadows  jump 
strangely  against  the  black  bookcases  just  as 
in  old  times  they  did  against  the  black 
forest,  visionary  things  become  real,  and 
little  Jimmy,  staring  into  the  fire,  wonders 
whether  he  will  ever  see  old  Makwa,  or 
Taw-kwo,  or  Asadi,  or  pretty  little,  brown 
little  May-may-gwan  again. 


XJJULB   JBWJk   JL0  JSUJ1    UJN    XAJD    UA0X 

STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
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MAY    31  1946 


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CEC'DLD    APBT 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


